America’s First Ladies: Lady Bird (Claudia Alta) Taylor Johnson
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By Super Admin
Published on 09/22/2007
She was born December 22, 1912 in a two-story brick southern plantation mansion with a traditional balcony. The mansion is still standing today and is a registered national landmark in Karnack, Texas.
America’s First Ladies: Lady Bird (Claudia Alta) Taylor Johnson
She was born December 22, 1912 in a two-story brick southern plantation mansion with a traditional balcony. The mansion is still standing today and is a registered national landmark in Karnack, Texas.
Lady Bird Johnson’s (future First Lady of America) father was Thomas Jefferson Taylor II of Autauga County, Alabama. He was a general store owner, cotton planter, land owner. He turned his store profits into real estate and owned some twelve thousand acres of cotton, which probably made him the largest landowner in Harrison County, Texas. His donation of nearly 400 acres of property to the state became Caddo Lake State Park. He was also owner of the property on which the Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant was built during World War II.
Her mother, Minnie Pattillo Taylor, was born in Alabama. Town of birth is not known.
Lady Bird (future First Lady of America) was the third of three children. She had two brothers.
Her Education includes:
Lady Bird (Claudia Alta) Taylor Johnson attended grade school in Karnack and Jefferson, Texas and briefly in Alabama. She graduated Marshall Public High School at age 15, third in her class. The future First Lady of America attended St. Mary’s College for Girls boarding school, Dallas, Texas and earned a bachelor’s degree in history at the University of Texas at Austin. She also earned a bachelor of journalism degree from University of Texas at Austin. While at the University of Texas, Lady Bird Johnson, studied shorthand and earned a teacher’s certificate.
Before her whirlwind courtship with Lyndon Baines Johnson that resulted in marriage three months later, Lady Bird Taylor (future First Lady of America) was interested in pursing a career in writing or journalism.
Lady Bird (Claudia Alta) Taylor Johnson married Lyndon Baines Johnson at the age of 21. The couple made their home in Washington, D.C. during most of the first year with visits home to Texas. They had two daughters, Lynda Bird Johnson (Robb) and Luci Baines Johnson (Nugent Turpin).
After her marriage she became friends with many political figures of the ear such as Speaker Sam Rayburn, from Texas, and Congressional spouses, including Pat Nixon and Betty Ford. She met incumbent First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt when the latter arrived at a Congressional Club Luncheon that was held to raise funds to purchase a wheelchair for a disabled child.
Congressman Johnson enlisted as a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy during World War II and served in the Pacific in 1941 and 1942. During his absence, Lady Bird Johnson (future First Lady of America) ran his congressional office, composed correspondence, coped with political problems arising in his district and gave special attention to visiting constituents.
In 1943, she invested $17,000 to purchase KTBC, a small Austin, Texas radio station. She cleaned up the facility, hired new on-air talent, found commercial sponsors, and kept all financial accounts. Lady Bird Johnson (future First Lady of America) served as manager, then as chairman of what later came to be known as KLBJ for about four decades. When the family sold the enterprise in 1980, it was a media conglomerate that had provided them with substantial earnings. She then invested in large ranching properties which she also managed.
January 20, 1961, Lady Bird Johnson became the nation’s “Second Lady,” with LBJ’s ascendance to the vice presidency. She often substituted for the First Lady with only a moment’s notice at scheduled events, when Jacqueline Kennedy was unable to appear. Lady Bird Johnson traveled extensively with the Vice President and continued to manage her business. Her business success was publicly recognized when she was presented with the Businesswoman’s Award in 1963 by the Business and Professional Women’s Club and in 1963 with an Industry Citation from the American Women in Radio & Television. Lady Bird Johnson (future First Lady of America) was an active fundraiser for heart disease prevention in the Washington community and in 1962 she received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Washington Heart Association.
Mrs. Johnson was in a car behind President Kennedy and his wife when the President was assassinated in November of 1963 in Dallas, Texas. She was preparing to host the Kennedys as guests at the Johnson ranch in Stonewall, Texas, but instead she was thrust into the role of First Lady. She provided comfort to the widowed Mrs. Kennedy and recorded her thoughts of the tragic experience. The recordings became a first entry of what would become a unique historic document – a daily recorded diary of her life in the White House.
Lady Bird became America’s First Lady at the age of 51. Her first days in the White House were overshadowed by the mourning for President Kennedy, sympathy and interest in Jacqueline Kennedy. She did not undertake a fully-blown public role during this time period. America’s First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson, identified projects and programs that her predecessor had begun which also interested her and continued them, most especially efforts on behalf of “White House history.” She corresponded with Mrs. Kennedy and welcomed her advice on matters such as placement of portraits or the purchase of china. President Johnson, by executive order, permanently established the Committee for the Preservation of the White House begun as an informal organization by the widow, Jacqueline Kennedy.
Lady Bird Johnson was unique among her predecessors for her own interest and study of the First Ladies. She became familiar with many of their biographies through her numerous visits since the 1930’s to the Smithsonian Institution exhibit of their gowns. She visited several presidential homes and showed great interest in the objects associated with First Ladies.
She was a strong and vocal advocate of women seeking higher education.
Lady Bird Johnson’s project of “Beautification” while in the White House is the one most closely associated with her years as one of America’s First Ladies. About two million daffodil and tulip bulbs, 83,000 flowering plants, 50,000 shrubs, 137,000 annual and 25,000 trees were planted around or near the public buildings.
She encouraged the Job Corps to expand the professional skills it taught to include landscaping. Lady Bird Johnson, America’s First Lady, continued Pennsylvania Avenue redevelopment, which was an idea begun by President Kennedy. Lady Bird Johnson also created the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden and the Children’s Garden on the White House South Lawn. America’s First Lady, Mrs. Johnson then took her committee into the low-income areas of the city that were largely populated by African-Americans for cleaning, refurbishment and maintenance of city schools, the installation of recreation areas, massive housing project trash cleanups and the start of summer “Projects Pride” program that employed college and high school students in neighborhood tree plantings and conservation, pest control, sanitation and renovation of decaying public buildings. There were about 100 projects that resulted from America’s First Lady, Mrs. Johnson’s beautification efforts.
Source: National First Ladies’ Library
Written by: Connie Limon. America’s First Ladies Information at http://smalldogs2.com/AmericasFirstLadies For more U.S. History articles and a variety of other topic FREE reprint articles visit http://www.camelotarticles.com
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved
Lady Bird Johnson’s (future First Lady of America) father was Thomas Jefferson Taylor II of Autauga County, Alabama. He was a general store owner, cotton planter, land owner. He turned his store profits into real estate and owned some twelve thousand acres of cotton, which probably made him the largest landowner in Harrison County, Texas. His donation of nearly 400 acres of property to the state became Caddo Lake State Park. He was also owner of the property on which the Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant was built during World War II.
Her mother, Minnie Pattillo Taylor, was born in Alabama. Town of birth is not known.
Lady Bird (future First Lady of America) was the third of three children. She had two brothers.
Her Education includes:
Lady Bird (Claudia Alta) Taylor Johnson attended grade school in Karnack and Jefferson, Texas and briefly in Alabama. She graduated Marshall Public High School at age 15, third in her class. The future First Lady of America attended St. Mary’s College for Girls boarding school, Dallas, Texas and earned a bachelor’s degree in history at the University of Texas at Austin. She also earned a bachelor of journalism degree from University of Texas at Austin. While at the University of Texas, Lady Bird Johnson, studied shorthand and earned a teacher’s certificate.
Before her whirlwind courtship with Lyndon Baines Johnson that resulted in marriage three months later, Lady Bird Taylor (future First Lady of America) was interested in pursing a career in writing or journalism.
Lady Bird (Claudia Alta) Taylor Johnson married Lyndon Baines Johnson at the age of 21. The couple made their home in Washington, D.C. during most of the first year with visits home to Texas. They had two daughters, Lynda Bird Johnson (Robb) and Luci Baines Johnson (Nugent Turpin).
After her marriage she became friends with many political figures of the ear such as Speaker Sam Rayburn, from Texas, and Congressional spouses, including Pat Nixon and Betty Ford. She met incumbent First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt when the latter arrived at a Congressional Club Luncheon that was held to raise funds to purchase a wheelchair for a disabled child.
Congressman Johnson enlisted as a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy during World War II and served in the Pacific in 1941 and 1942. During his absence, Lady Bird Johnson (future First Lady of America) ran his congressional office, composed correspondence, coped with political problems arising in his district and gave special attention to visiting constituents.
In 1943, she invested $17,000 to purchase KTBC, a small Austin, Texas radio station. She cleaned up the facility, hired new on-air talent, found commercial sponsors, and kept all financial accounts. Lady Bird Johnson (future First Lady of America) served as manager, then as chairman of what later came to be known as KLBJ for about four decades. When the family sold the enterprise in 1980, it was a media conglomerate that had provided them with substantial earnings. She then invested in large ranching properties which she also managed.
January 20, 1961, Lady Bird Johnson became the nation’s “Second Lady,” with LBJ’s ascendance to the vice presidency. She often substituted for the First Lady with only a moment’s notice at scheduled events, when Jacqueline Kennedy was unable to appear. Lady Bird Johnson traveled extensively with the Vice President and continued to manage her business. Her business success was publicly recognized when she was presented with the Businesswoman’s Award in 1963 by the Business and Professional Women’s Club and in 1963 with an Industry Citation from the American Women in Radio & Television. Lady Bird Johnson (future First Lady of America) was an active fundraiser for heart disease prevention in the Washington community and in 1962 she received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Washington Heart Association.
Mrs. Johnson was in a car behind President Kennedy and his wife when the President was assassinated in November of 1963 in Dallas, Texas. She was preparing to host the Kennedys as guests at the Johnson ranch in Stonewall, Texas, but instead she was thrust into the role of First Lady. She provided comfort to the widowed Mrs. Kennedy and recorded her thoughts of the tragic experience. The recordings became a first entry of what would become a unique historic document – a daily recorded diary of her life in the White House.
Lady Bird became America’s First Lady at the age of 51. Her first days in the White House were overshadowed by the mourning for President Kennedy, sympathy and interest in Jacqueline Kennedy. She did not undertake a fully-blown public role during this time period. America’s First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson, identified projects and programs that her predecessor had begun which also interested her and continued them, most especially efforts on behalf of “White House history.” She corresponded with Mrs. Kennedy and welcomed her advice on matters such as placement of portraits or the purchase of china. President Johnson, by executive order, permanently established the Committee for the Preservation of the White House begun as an informal organization by the widow, Jacqueline Kennedy.
Lady Bird Johnson was unique among her predecessors for her own interest and study of the First Ladies. She became familiar with many of their biographies through her numerous visits since the 1930’s to the Smithsonian Institution exhibit of their gowns. She visited several presidential homes and showed great interest in the objects associated with First Ladies.
She was a strong and vocal advocate of women seeking higher education.
Lady Bird Johnson’s project of “Beautification” while in the White House is the one most closely associated with her years as one of America’s First Ladies. About two million daffodil and tulip bulbs, 83,000 flowering plants, 50,000 shrubs, 137,000 annual and 25,000 trees were planted around or near the public buildings.
She encouraged the Job Corps to expand the professional skills it taught to include landscaping. Lady Bird Johnson, America’s First Lady, continued Pennsylvania Avenue redevelopment, which was an idea begun by President Kennedy. Lady Bird Johnson also created the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden and the Children’s Garden on the White House South Lawn. America’s First Lady, Mrs. Johnson then took her committee into the low-income areas of the city that were largely populated by African-Americans for cleaning, refurbishment and maintenance of city schools, the installation of recreation areas, massive housing project trash cleanups and the start of summer “Projects Pride” program that employed college and high school students in neighborhood tree plantings and conservation, pest control, sanitation and renovation of decaying public buildings. There were about 100 projects that resulted from America’s First Lady, Mrs. Johnson’s beautification efforts.
Source: National First Ladies’ Library
Written by: Connie Limon. America’s First Ladies Information at http://smalldogs2.com/AmericasFirstLadies For more U.S. History articles and a variety of other topic FREE reprint articles visit http://www.camelotarticles.com
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.
© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved